R a d o n i n G e o r g i a

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1 R a d o n i n G e o r g i a GREP is funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the Georgia Department of Community Affairs Office of Planning and Environmental Management Rome Shine a Light Program One of the main goals of our program, along with other radon education programs throughout the nation, is to educate the public about radon-induced lung cancer. Radon is the 1st leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers and the 2nd leading cause of lung cancer overall, behind tobacco smoke. This year our program was invited to have an exhibit booth at a lung cancer event at a hospital in Rome, GA. Redmond Regional Medical Center, located in the northwest region of Georgia, hosted a nation-wide event called SHINE A LIGHT. The purpose of this event is to raise awareness of lung cancer, provide education on how to prevent it and screen for it, to honor those who have battled the disease, and to give hope to those who are currently battling it. This was the first time that RRMC had hosted this event. The UGA Radon Education Program was invited to help provide education and test kits to event attendees so that they could test their homes and be proactive in reducing their risk of developing lung cancer. At the event, I spoke with many individuals who lost family members and loved ones due to lung cancer. They were all extremely interested to learn more about what they were being exposed to in their homes. The staff organizing the event did an incredible job of introducing all of the speakers and exhibitors and made sure to include a mention of radon and the importance of testing homes for it. This was a great event to be a part of and our program looks forward to future partnerships.

2 Free to Breathe 5k Over the past several years, our program has been a part of the Free to Breathe 5k race in the fall. Free to Breathe is a partnership for lung cancer survival, and a group that helps raise funds, awareness, and hope for those affected by lung cancer. This year was no different. The UGA Radon Education Program had an exhibit booth at the 5k held at Sandy Creek Park in Athens. We provided test kits, educational materials, and played trivia games with many of the attendees. Being a part of programs such as this one is always a wonderful experience. Everyone at the event has been impacted by lung cancer in some way and they are very attentive to what we say and are very interested in testing their homes. We look forward to working with Free to Breathe at their next 5k. 4-H Radon Program In December of this past year our program was able to attend a Radon Education Class provided to the Cloverbuds, a young 4-H group consisting of elementary school aged children, that was provided by a Senior 4-H student. Hayden, the senior 4-Her, is a recent winner of the Georgia Radon Poster Contest and decided to use radon education as part of his 4-H project this year in addition to creating his own rudimentary radon detector. The Cloverbuds from Oconee County 4-H have regular meetings after school involving crafts, games, service projects, and educational sessions. Hayden provided a fun and interactive presentation for the children, equipped with a model home with a mitigation system installed. The children were very interested in how the kits work and what you do if a home has high levels of radon. Not surprisingly, they asked some of the same questions that most adults ask during presentations. Each of the Cloverbuds was sent home with a complimentary radon kit once a parent or guardian picked them up. It was great to see Hayden provide a program for these children.

3 R a d o n O u t r e a c h PROGRAM CONTACTS Programs-Meetings 3 Participants 70 Materials Distributed 100 Exhibits-Events 2 Participants 650 Materials Distributed 200 OTHER CONTACTS Contacts 141 Medical Professionals 17 Home Builders Realtors 4 Consumer Contacts 120 KIT USAGE DATA Kits Distributed 156 Results Received 99 > 4.0 pci/l 29 < 4.0 pci/l 65 Incomplete 5 % > 4.0 pci/l 31% Highest Level 29.7 pci/l MITIGATION DATA RRNC 2 Mitigations 3 Mitigation Referreals 60 MEDIA IMPRESSIONS Radio Listeners Television Viewers Newspaper Circulation Newsletter Distribution Local Web Hits 4 GA SIRG Web Hits TOTAL IMPRESSIONS 153,630 1Other includes radon education/results of former educators & county FACS/4-H Agents. 2Reported quarterly by Southface 3Mitigation & RRNCs completed by Certified Mitigators are reported annually. 4Began tracking Jan 1, Web hits for are shared equally among the radon educators.

4 R a d o n O u t r e a c h PROGRAM CONTACTS Hall DeKalb Gwinnett Elbert Walton Southface Other 1 s Programs / Meetings , ,682 Participants 9,110 4,335 15,112 3,866 23,080 17,946 2,099 75,548 Materials Distributed 16,382 11,441 15,887 6,595 46,547 9, ,111 Exhibits or Events Participants 46,136 6, ,287 11, ,033 13,798 2, ,786 Materials Distributed 100,150 8,947 50,145 8,057 26,470 1,296 1, ,411 OTHER CONTACTS Hall DeKalb Gwinnett Elbert Walton Southface Other s Direct Contacts 6,467 1,385 1, ,507 12, ,370 Medical professionals ,846 Home builders , ,941 Realtors ,838 Consumer Contacts 4,973 1, ,015 1, ,745 KIT USAGE DATA Hall DeKalb Gwinnett Elbert Walton Southface Other s Kits Distributed 9,109 4,271 7,874 2,893 12,183 5,192 4,600 46,122 Test Results Received 3,488 1,620 2,451 1,354 6,309 1, ,131 Highest Level MITIGATION DATA Hall DeKalb Gwinnett Elbert Walton Southface Other s Mitigation Referrals 1, ,133 Mitigations 2 5,383 RRNC 3 1,480 MEDIA IMPRESSIONS Hall DeKalb Gwinnett Elbert Walton Southface Other s Radio Outreach , ,503 Listening Audience 4,847,000 3,670,000 10,000 4,020,000 2,693,000 2, ,000 15,619,000 TV Outreach ,654 Viewing Audience 25,170,100 12,733,000 73,981,740 15,080 27,894,200 1,328,000 8,385, ,507,120 Newspaper Outreach Circulation 1,429,400 3,223,000 1,304, ,800 3,545, ,500 9,726,966 Newsletter Outreach Distribution 29, ,746 9,215 1,832, ,048 6,054 2,796,892 Local Web Hits ,044 20, , ,538 State Web Hits 6 64,936 51, ,232 TOTAL IMPRESSIONS 31,489,681 19,640,280 75,346,890 4,212,082 35,989,916 2,284,344 8,837, ,800,748 1Other includes radon education/results of former radon educators and county FACS/4-H Agents. 2Reported quarterly by Southface only. 3Certified GA mitigators reported their mitigations & RRNCs annually through Began tracking Jan. 1, UGA Radon Program web hits are shared equally among the 5 radon educators

5 RADON RESOURCES & CONTACTS Georgia Indoor Radon Grant Administration Brain Johnson, Office Director Georgia Department of Community Affairs Office of Planning and Environmental Management 60 Executive Park South NE, Atlanta, GA Adriane Wood, Grant Coordinator Georgia Department of Community Affairs Office of Planning and Environmental Management 479 Cherry Street, Macon, GA Radon Hotline Numbers National Hotlines Kansas State University / EPA SOS-RADON ( ) 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday Friday National Hispanic Indoor Air Quality The Radon Fix It Line: (National Safety Program) Get live help for your radon questions RADON ( )* Radon Fix-It Hotline General information on reducing radon levels * Safe Drinking Water Hotline * Operated by Kansas State University in partnership with EPA The Georgia Radon Education Program is funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the Georgia Department of Community Affairs Office of Planning and Environmental Management, in partnership with the University of Georgia College of Family & Consumer Sciences Cooperative Extension. Dr. Pamela R. Turner, Director prturner@uga.edu UGA Radon Program Team Like us on Facebook! Gabrielle Walters, Radon Educator gab589@uga.edu